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Thursday, April 6, 2017

Angie's List Helping to Enable O'Reilly's Bad Behavior

Bill O'Reilly

If he worked for anyplace other than Fox News, Bill O'Reilly would be out of a job today. That's my opinion.

In fact, "Bill O" as Keith Olbermann used to call him on his old show Countdown should have been gone long ago from the airwaves on the Fox News Channel, but it's a true "good ole boys" kind of place over there which marginalizes women newscasters and celebrates misogynistic behavior. A smug, arrogant serial harrasser like O'Reilly appears to be must be seen as an asset by the folks at Fox.

Our "locker room talk" President has come out and defended O'Reilly, and that shouldn't surprise anybody. Donald Trump's presidential campaign was knocked off track for about a month by his own crude comments toward women recorded by Access Hollywood microphones. Trump is an enabler because he knows that people like O'Reilly buy him cover.

The fact of the matter is that Fox News should do what the parent company finally did to the old head of the network. When it became clear that Roger Ailes harrassed multiple women in a sexual manner, he was forced out. The same should happen to O'Reilly.

Of course, that would leave the Fox News Channel without one of its marquee stars. The O'Reilly Factor is still a ratings juggernaut that brings in revenue and viewers for Fox News. That said, the advertisers are starting to pull back from O'Reilly in recent weeks. We've seen several companies say they don't want to be in the Bill O'Reilly business.

Indianapolis-based Angie's List is sticking beside O'Reilly. That's sad, and it shows a lack of vision, in my opinion, by the company. It's these advertisers who are sticking in with O'Reilly that are helping to enable his bad behavior. Apparently, Angie's List doesn't feel that supporting O'Reilly's show with money will have an effect on how the company, which has received taxpayer dollars over the years, is perceived. Well, I hope the City-County Council, Mayor Joe Hogsett and others are paying attention the next time Angie's List comes for a tax-money handout. I don't want my money to go to a company that supports a guy like Bill O'Reilly. It should be noted that Eli Lilly pulled its ads from O'Reilly's show, according to the Indianapolis Star.

O'Reilly probably will survive this latest scandal. Rush Limbaugh emerged from his scandal after he said awful things about Sandra Fluke. His show was notably weaker out the other side, but Limbaugh just re-upped for a chunk of cash with his distributor. O'Reilly may survive, but he'll come out the other side weakened.

I guess as long as Fox News feels like it can pay out settlements to excuse O'Reilly's serial harrassing behavior then they'll tolerate his antics. Since Fox News seems unwilling to take the steps to remove and replace Bill O'Reilly, it's up to advertisers and viewers to ultimately decide whether they'll be so supportive.

Zach's in a tough position because Angie's List is in his district. He and I have had conversations on the company in the past, and I can understand his position as they are a major employer in his district. With that said, I have not sought out or discussed Zach's position on this particular matter with him.

Full disclosure, Zach is one of my very best friends, and that extends outside the realm of politics. I love him and his husband, Christian, like a brother and was in his local wedding ceremony.